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Indian Journal of Dermatology,... 2023Introduction Tattoo-associated complications are on the rise due to the popularity of decorative tattoos in recent years. The exact pathogeneses of various tattoo...
Clinicodermoscopic and immunopathological profile of non-infectious non-eczematous inflammatory tattoo reactions: A retrospective study from a tertiary care centre of East India.
Introduction Tattoo-associated complications are on the rise due to the popularity of decorative tattoos in recent years. The exact pathogeneses of various tattoo reaction patterns are still unclear, and their dermoscopic details are sparsely reported. Aim We aimed to retrospectively study the clinical, dermoscopic and immunopathological details of patients with non-infectious, non-eczematous inflammatory tattoo reaction patterns in a tertiary care centre of East India. Method The clinical, dermoscopic and pathological details of all the patients who had non-infectious, non-eczematous inflammatory tattoo reactions were collected. In all the cases, immunohistochemistry was done for CD1a, CD3, CD4, CD8, FoxP3, CD20 and CD56. Results A total of five patients of skin phototypes IV and V and six tattoo reactions were analysed. Five lesions had reactions at the site of a black tattoo, and one at the site of red tattoo. Clinically, the patients presented with erythematous or blue-grey flat-topped to verrucous papules and plaques. Dermoscopic features were dominated by a central white to pink-white structureless area, a peripheral grey-white to bluish-white structureless area, white scales, comedo-like opening with keratotic plugging, milia-like cysts and shiny white structures. Pathologically, except for one lesion that only showed a lichenoid reaction pattern in the red tattoo, all had a combination of reaction patterns. Immunohistochemistry showed increased epidermal and dermal Langerhans cells, predominantly CD8 positive T cells in the epidermis and dermis, sparse dermal B cells and CD4 positive T cells, reduced T regulatory cells and a complete absence of CD56 positive NK cells. Limitations Small sample size was the limitation of the study. Conclusion The clinical morphology and dermoscopy may not differentiate between various types of non-infectious non-eczematous inflammatory tattoo reactions. The immunological profile supports a delayed hypersensitivity reaction due to contact sensitisation to tattoo pigment, and CD8 positive T cells play a central role in executing various pathological reaction patterns, both in the epidermis and dermis.
Topics: Humans; Tattooing; Retrospective Studies; Tertiary Care Centers; Skin; Inflammation; India
PubMed: 36331839
DOI: 10.25259/IJDVL_85_2022 -
Neurological Sciences : Official... Feb 2024A new national survey has been carried out by the Italian Centers for Cognitive Disorders and Dementias (CCDDs). The aim of this new national survey is to provide a...
INTRODUCTION
A new national survey has been carried out by the Italian Centers for Cognitive Disorders and Dementias (CCDDs). The aim of this new national survey is to provide a comprehensive description of the characteristics, organizational aspects of the CCDDs, and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
METHODS
A list of all national CCDDs was requested from the delegates of each Italian region. The online questionnaire is divided in two main sections: a profile section, containing information on location and accessibility, and a data collection form covering organization, services, treatments, activities, and any service interruptions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
RESULTS
In total, 511 out of 534 (96%) facilities completed the profile section, while 450 out of 534 (84%) CCDDs also completed the data collection form. Almost half of the CCDDs (55.1%) operated for 3 or fewer days a week. About one-third of the facilities had at least two professional figures among neurologists, geriatricians and psychiatrists. In 2020, only a third of facilities were open all the time, but in 2021, two-thirds of the facilities were open.
CONCLUSION
This paper provides an update on the current status of CCDDs in Italy, which still shows considerable heterogeneity. The survey revealed a modest improvement in the functioning of CCDDs, although substantial efforts are still required to ensure the diagnosis and care of patients with dementia.
Topics: Humans; Pandemics; Cognitive Dysfunction; Cognition Disorders; Surveys and Questionnaires; COVID-19; Dementia; Italy
PubMed: 37592124
DOI: 10.1007/s10072-023-06958-8 -
Addictive Behaviors Apr 2024Few studies have examined whether specific aspects of group identification predict problematic and non-problematic addictive behaviours and none have focused on...
Few studies have examined whether specific aspects of group identification predict problematic and non-problematic addictive behaviours and none have focused on gambling. Applying Leach et al.'s (2008) hierarchical model of in-group identification, we tested the associations between components of self-investment (satisfaction, solidarity, and centrality) and components of self-definition (individual self-stereotyping, in-group homogeneity) on distinguishing between problem and non-problem gambling (n = 10,157) and on the severity of problematic gambling behaviour (n = 2,568). Results showed that (i) in-group-based identities are important in predicting problematic vs. non-problematic gambling behaviours; (ii) in-group-based identities are important in predicting the severity of problematic gambling; (iii) how self-invested an individual is with their in-group and aspects associated with self-definition processes are both important predictors; (iv) perceptions related to how chronically salient one's group membership is for the self (centrality) are essential features of the self-investment mechanism; and (v) self-stereotypical beliefs about one's essential similarities to the prototypical gambling group member norm are fundamental for the defining oneself as a gambler.
Topics: Humans; Gambling; Behavior, Addictive; Social Identification
PubMed: 38104421
DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107936 -
Virus Research Oct 2023The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is fading, however its etiologic agent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues posing -...
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is fading, however its etiologic agent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues posing - despite the availability of licensed vaccines - a global health threat, due to the potential emergence of vaccine-resistant SARS-CoV-2 variants. This makes the development of new drugs against COVID-19 a persistent urgency and sets as research priority the validation of novel therapeutic targets within the SARS-CoV-2 proteome. Among these, a promising one is the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) phosphoprotein, a major structural component of the virion with indispensable role in packaging the viral genome into a ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex, which also contributes to SARS-CoV-2 innate immune evasion by inhibiting the host cell type-I interferon (IFN-I) response. By combining miniaturized differential scanning fluorimetry with microscale thermophoresis, we found that the 100-year-old drug Suramin interacts with SARS-CoV-2 N-terminal domain (NTD) and C-terminal domain (CTD), thereby inhibiting their single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) binding function with low-micromolar K and IC values. Molecular docking suggests that Suramin interacts with basic NTD cleft and CTD dimer interface groove, highlighting three potentially druggable ssRNA binding sites. Electron microscopy shows that Suramin inhibits the formation in vitro of RNP complex-like condensates by SARS-CoV-2 N with a synthetic ssRNA. In a dose-dependent manner, Suramin also reduced SARS-CoV-2-induced cytopathic effect on Vero E6 and Calu-3 cells, partially reverting the SARS-CoV-2 N-inhibited IFN-I production in 293T cells. Our findings indicate that Suramin inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication by hampering viral genome packaging, thereby representing a starting model for design of new COVID-19 antivirals.
PubMed: 37704176
DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2023.199221 -
Cureus Jan 2024Seizures are the most common neurological disorder in pediatrics, and their initial approach aims at clinical stabilization. A thorough patient evaluation may provide...
Seizures are the most common neurological disorder in pediatrics, and their initial approach aims at clinical stabilization. A thorough patient evaluation may provide important clues for the etiological diagnosis. A 12-month-old female child was observed in the emergency department after experiencing her first apyretic seizure. She had a history of congenital alopecia and, on physical examination, presented subtotal alopecia and milia. Initial investigation revealed hypocalcemia; therefore, intravenous calcium correction was started with a partial response. The analytical study was extended, revealing hypophosphatemia, elevated parathormone, and 1,25(OH) vitamin D with normal 25(OH) vitamin D. The genetic analysis confirmed hereditary vitamin D-resistant rickets (HVDRR). The integration of the findings was crucial to diagnostic reasoning and to guide further investigation. HVDRR is a rare disorder, with more severe clinical presentations associated with alopecia. Early diagnosis and treatment are fundamental to minimize the impact on growth and the development of other comorbidities.
PubMed: 38425628
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.53233 -
Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) Sep 2023Convolutional neural network (CNN) models have been extensively applied to skin lesions segmentation due to their information discrimination capabilities. However, CNNs'...
Convolutional neural network (CNN) models have been extensively applied to skin lesions segmentation due to their information discrimination capabilities. However, CNNs' struggle to capture the connection between long-range contexts when extracting deep semantic features from lesion images, resulting in a semantic gap that causes segmentation distortion in skin lesions. Therefore, detecting the presence of differential structures such as pigment networks, globules, streaks, negative networks, and milia-like cysts becomes difficult. To resolve these issues, we have proposed an approach based on semantic-based segmentation (Dermo-Seg) to detect differential structures of lesions using a UNet model with a transfer-learning-based ResNet-50 architecture and a hybrid loss function. The Dermo-Seg model uses ResNet-50 backbone architecture as an encoder in the UNet model. We have applied a combination of focal Tversky loss and IOU loss functions to handle the dataset's highly imbalanced class ratio. The obtained results prove that the intended model performs well compared to the existing models. The dataset was acquired from various sources, such as ISIC18, ISBI17, and HAM10000, to evaluate the Dermo-Seg model. We have dealt with the data imbalance present within each class at the pixel level using our hybrid loss function. The proposed model achieves a mean IOU score of 0.53 for streaks, 0.67 for pigment networks, 0.66 for globules, 0.58 for negative networks, and 0.53 for milia-like-cysts. Overall, the Dermo-Seg model is efficient in detecting different skin lesion structures and achieved 96.4% on the IOU index. Our Dermo-Seg system improves the IOU index compared to the most recent network.
PubMed: 37761291
DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13182924 -
International Journal of Environmental... Jan 2024Food and alcohol disturbance (FAD) is characterized by the association of alcohol use with compensatory behaviors such as restricting calories, physical activity and...
Food and alcohol disturbance (FAD) is characterized by the association of alcohol use with compensatory behaviors such as restricting calories, physical activity and purging. Despite not being part of the current nosography, research has grown in the past 10 years, mostly on college students' samples. In this study, we aim to describe the prevalence, characteristics and association of FAD with problem drinking (PD) and eating disorder risk (EDR) in a sample of Italian high school students. Participants were 900 high school students (53.6% males; mean age = 16.22) that were administered standardized questionnaires. Students who screened positive for PD, EDR and both were, respectively, 17.3%, 5.9% and 1.3%. Approximately one out four students reported FAD behaviors, mostly to control weight and by restricting calories, with higher prevalence and severity among those who screened positive for PD. Purging behaviors were rare overall (15.5%), but significantly more frequent in participants who screened positive for both PD and EDR (41.7%). FAD was more strongly associated with alcohol use severity than with ED symptom severity across all subgroups. FAD behaviors appear to be common in the Italian high school population and more strongly associated with PD. Future studies should investigate FAD's impact on adolescents' functioning and possible early interventions.
Topics: Male; Humans; Adolescent; Female; Prevalence; Alcoholism; Alcohol Drinking; Early Intervention, Educational; Feeding and Eating Disorders
PubMed: 38248546
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph21010083 -
Toxics Sep 2023The evidence linking the use of household pesticides and the risk of lymphoma is scanty.
BACKGROUND
The evidence linking the use of household pesticides and the risk of lymphoma is scanty.
METHODS
We explored the hypothesis in a population-based case-control study on lymphoma conducted in Sardinia, Italy, in 1998-2004, including 325 cases and 465 population controls and data on lifetime frequency, seasonality, and years of use of household insecticides and potential confounders. We calculated the risk of lymphoma (all subtypes) and its major subtypes associated with using household insecticides in three time windows (up to 1978, from 1979-2001, and 2002 onwards) with unconditional logistic regression adjusting by age, sex, education, and occupational exposure to pesticides.
RESULTS
Household insecticides did not increase risk of lymphoma (all subtypes), Hodgkin's lymphoma, B-cell lymphoma, and the major B-cell lymphoma subtypes. The risk of multiple myeloma (MM) but not the other subtypes showed a non-significant upward trend ( = 0.203) with increasing quartiles of days of use in the time window when propoxur was the most popular household insecticide.
CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest no association between the household use of insecticides and the risk of lymphoma. Further studies are warranted to confirm or discard an association between MM risk and the use of propoxur.
PubMed: 37755762
DOI: 10.3390/toxics11090752 -
Journal of Pharmaceutical and... Apr 2024MDPHP is a synthetic cathinone (SC) belonging to α-pyrrolidinophenone derivatives. It is a central nervous system stimulant and may induce hallucinations, paranoia,...
MDPHP is a synthetic cathinone (SC) belonging to α-pyrrolidinophenone derivatives. It is a central nervous system stimulant and may induce hallucinations, paranoia, tachycardia, hypertension, chest pain, and rhabdomyolysis. In literature, a few cases of intoxication have been reported. In the present study, 17 cases of MDPHP intake were described including the analytical findings and clinical manifestations. MDPHP was quantified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in blood (range 1.26-73.30 ng/mL) and urine (range 19.31-8769.64 ng/mL) samples. In three cases the presence of α-PHP was observed. In one case, MDPHP was the only detected substance. Concomitant use of MDPHP with other substances, particularly psychostimulants, was common and it was difficult to describe the peculiar clinical characteristics of this SC. Most of the symptoms overlapped those expected, some of them were unusual and all of them particularly severe thus inducing the research of NPS in laboratory tests. We demonstrated the presence of psychiatric, neurological, and respiratory symptoms, as well as the possible presence of rhabdomyolysis and cardiotoxicity associated with the use of MDPHP. ED admissions were also more frequent in patients with addiction problems. In some cases, MDPHP intake required intensive supportive care. A multidisciplinary approach, including specialist consultation, is recommended for patients showing challenging features. Moreover, we demonstrated that the adoption of advanced analytical techniques, i.e., liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, is necessary to detect these molecules. Further studies are needed to understand MDPHP intake patterns and associated symptoms. It is essential to raise awareness in addiction treatment centers and among potential users, especially young people, and chemsex addicted.
Topics: Humans; Adolescent; Central Nervous System Stimulants; Synthetic Cathinone; Mass Spectrometry; Chromatography, Liquid; Rhabdomyolysis
PubMed: 38277706
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2024.115974 -
Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2024Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms presenting unique challenges in diagnosis and management. Traditional markers such as chromogranin... (Review)
Review
Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms presenting unique challenges in diagnosis and management. Traditional markers such as chromogranin A (CgA), pancreatic polypeptide (PP), and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) have limitations in terms of specificity and sensitivity. Specific circulating markers such as serotonin and its metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and various gastrointestinal hormones such as gastrin, glucagon, somatostatin, and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) have a role in identifying functional NENs. Recent advances in molecular and biochemical markers, also accounting for novel genomic and proteomic markers, have significantly improved the landscape for the diagnosis and monitoring of NENs. This review discusses these developments, focusing on both traditional markers such as CgA and NSE, as well as specific hormones like gastrin, insulin, somatostatin, glucagon, and VIP. Additionally, it covers emerging genomic and proteomic markers that are shaping current research. The clinical applicability of these markers is highlighted, and their role in improving diagnostic accuracy, predicting surgical outcomes, and monitoring response to treatment is demonstrated. The review also highlights the need for further research, including validation of these markers in larger studies, development of standardized assays, and integration with imaging techniques. The evolving field of biochemical markers holds promise for improving patient outcomes in the treatment of NENs, although challenges in standardization and validation remain.
PubMed: 38928704
DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics14121289